LENGTHENING DAYS
As the days grow longer The storms grow stronger.
THE BLACK HEN
Hickety, pickety, my black hen, She lays eggs for gentlemen; Gentlemen come every day To see what my black hen doth lay.
THE MIST
A hill full, a hole full, Yet you cannot catch a bowl full.
A CANDLE
Little Nanny Etticoat In a white petticoat, And a red nose; The longer she stands The shorter she grows.
MISS m.u.f.fET
Little Miss m.u.f.fet Sat on a tuffet, Eating of curds and whey; There came a big spider, And sat down beside her, And frightened Miss m.u.f.fet away.
CURLY-LOCKS
Curly-locks, Curly-locks, wilt thou be mine?
Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine; But sit on a cushion, and sew a fine seam And feed upon strawberries, sugar, and cream.
HUMPTY DUMPTY
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the King"s horses, and all the King"s men Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again.
ONE, TWO, THREE
One, two, three, four, five, Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, But I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
The little one upon the right.
THE DOVE AND THE WREN
The dove says coo, coo, what shall I do?
I can scarce maintain two.
Pooh, pooh! says the wren, I"ve got ten, And keep them all like gentlemen.
MASTER I HAVE
Master I have, and I am his man, Gallop a dreary dun; Master I have, and I am his man, And I"ll get a wife as fast as I can; With a heighty gaily gamberally, Higgledy piggledy, niggledy, niggledy, Gallop a dreary dun.
PINS
See a pin and pick it up, All the day you"ll have good luck.
See a pin and let it lay, Bad luck you"ll have all the day.
SHALL WE GO A-SHEARING?
"Old woman, old woman, shall we go a-shearing?"
"Speak a little louder, sir, I am very thick of hearing."
"Old woman, old woman, shall I kiss you dearly?"
"Thank you, kind sir, I hear you very clearly."
GOOSEY, GOOSEY, GANDER
Goosey, goosey, gander, Whither dost thou wander?
Upstairs and downstairs And in my lady"s chamber.
There I met an old man Who wouldn"t say his prayers; I took him by the left leg, And threw him down the stairs.
OLD MOTHER HUBBARD
Old Mother Hubbard Went to the cupboard, To give her poor dog a bone; But when she got there The cupboard was bare, And so the poor dog had none.
She went to the baker"s To buy him some bread; When she came back The dog was dead.
She went to the undertaker"s To buy him a coffin; When she got back The dog was laughing.
She took a clean dish To get him some tripe; When she came back He was smoking a pipe.
She went to the alehouse To get him some beer; When she came back The dog sat in a chair.
She went to the tavern For white wine and red; When she came back The dog stood on his head.
She went to the hatter"s To buy him a hat; When she came back He was feeding the cat.
She went to the barber"s To buy him a wig; When she came back He was dancing a jig.